This invention relates to an improved food container or box, such as for carry-out pizza, which is assembled from a foldable blank and designed specifically for preventing or at least minimizing tampering of the food stored therein.
Tamper-proof packaging arrangements are often provided on various consumer products such as medicines, and also on packaging for various food products. These arrangements typically include locking structures which, when tampered with, enable the consumer to easily visually recognize such tampering so that the product can then be rejected. An example of such a tamper-evident structure is a plastic locking ring connected to a cap such as those utilized on beverages. When the cap is loosened to open the container, the ring disconnects from the cap and thus provides a visual clue to the consumer in the event that the container was opened by an unauthorized person. Another type of tamper-evident feature is a plastic strip or seal which is provided externally around an opening of a container which must be removed or torn off prior to opening the container. If this strip is missing or damaged, the consumer can reject the product. In both of the above arrangements, the tamper-evident structure essentially locks the container in the closed position, and opening of the container can only be achieved by damaging or removing the locking structure.
Food containers formed from blanks incorporating locking arrangements for securing the walls of the container are conventional. In this regard, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,573,633 and 6,092,715 disclose food boxes or containers utilizing locking arrangements. The ""633 patent is directed to a paperboard baking and shipping tray having locking flaps formed on the respective upright side panels. The opposite upright end panels define corner-shaped detents which are pressed inwardly and once in place prevent outward movement of the side panels relative to the upright end panels. The ""715 patent discloses a pizza box wherein flaps are attached to the upright edges of the side and front walls and define the front corners of the box. These flaps are folded inwardly and interlocked with one another by means of a tab defined on one flap and which abuts a shoulder defined on the other flap. However, neither of these arrangements includes any tamper-resistant features, and neither provides the consumer with any type of visual cue as to whether the container has been tampered with.
The present invention relates to a container or box for carrying, transporting or storing food, such as pizza or the like. The container is formed by folding a one-piece blank, and includes a locking arrangement which prevents unauthorized opening of the box by someone other than the consumer, and when tampered with enables the consumer to visually recognize same.
More specifically, the container or box pursuant to the invention incorporates therein tamper-resistant features located at the two front corners of the closed container. In this regard, the top wall of the container is attached to a pair of side walls or flaps which define locking tabs. These locking tabs cooperate with respective locking walls defined in side flaps attached to the bottom wall of the container. The locking walls are folded during assembly of the bottom of the container so that the locking walls are essentially corner-shaped and so that the corners thereof are disposed outwardly. After the food item, such as a pizza, is placed in the bottom of the container, the top is then lowered and the side flaps attached to the top wall are tucked inside and superimposed over the respective upright side flaps of the bottom. The locking walls are then pushed inwardly past the respective upright locking tabs to form a corner shape which is reversed in configuration from the initial corner shape.
The upright locking tabs essentially wrap around the respective lower edges of the locking walls and effectively prevent upward movement of the top of the container by abutting against the lower edges of the locking walls, thereby preventing opening of the container after the locking walls are pushed inwardly. The top wall defines a pair of lobe-shaped removable tabs which extend in a generally perpendicular manner over the top edges of the respective locking walls when the container is fully assembled and closed. These lobe-shaped tabs are intended for removal by the consumer along perforations, and once removed allow easy manipulation of the locking walls to open the container. That is, the lobe-shaped tabs are removed by tearing same along the perforations, and the locking walls are pushed outwardly or forwardly past the respective upright locking tabs so that the container can easily be opened. Thus, someone attempting to tamper with the contents of the container would essentially have to pry or pull the locking walls outwardly past the locking tabs, or remove the lobe-shaped tabs from the top wall to gain access to the locking walls. The prior removal of the tabs would then allow easy visual recognition of tampering.